Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Today was a Day for Looking

I returned to the marsh at the mouth of the big river, but I set out on a tide that would be rising for another hour. Within fifty yards I spotted six yellow crowned night herons.

The marsh goes through dramatic changes during a tide cycle. Where there were broad islands of tall spartina grass at yesterday's mid tide, there are now large open areas of water. Instead of following the edge of the marsh around to Milford Point, I bee line straight across the marsh.

Two bird species of note occupied the point. A pair of oyster catchers, and an endangered piping plover. There is a nest cage for the plover nearby, a four foot square cage of mesh to keep predators away from the nest, which is a scooped out depression in the sand.

Piping Plover

From there, I continue out, crossing the main river channel and rounding the point into Long Island Sound and following the shore to the Stratford Lighthouse.

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The Who, What, and Why

The first 300+ entries in this blog were from the Seattle area on the west coast of North America. Starting with October 5, 2012, my blog (and myself for that matter) has moved to Connecticut on the east coast. I have a lot to learn about my new home. I paddle solo most of the time, but I do take others on many trips. Photographs are shot from the canoe on the day of the trip. The writing is done by pencil and paper in the canoe.

I am an interdisciplinary artist creating content-driven and concept-driven artwork in a diverse selection of materials and themes with a very strong recent emphasis on nature and ecology. I was the Rubicon Foundation/Smoke Farm Artist in Residence for 2011-2012. I now live in Connecticut.